Articles in Category: Fair Housing Act

September 14, 2016

HUD To Publish New Final Rule And Fair Housing Act Guidance

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is set to publish a new final rule that, among other things, extends Fair Housing protections to victims of domestic violence and sexual harassment. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the agency is “formalizing legal standards under the Fair Housing Act for sexual and other forms of harassment in housing. In addition, HUD is issuing Fair Housing Act guidance on local nuisance ordinances that may lead to housing discrimination against survivors of domestic violence and other persons in need of emergency services.” These are important protections for those seeking FHA home loans (or any other type of mortgage) but also for renters, house hunters, etc. According to the press release, “HUDs final Harassment Rule is titled Quid Pro Quo | more...

September 9, 2016

HUD Announces Fair Housing Settlement With City Of Phoenix

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced progress in a fair housing issue involving the city of Phoenix, Arizona. According to a press release on the FHA/HUD official site, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced today an agreement between the City of Phoenix, Arizona and two fair housing organizations resolving multiple complaints of housing discrimination. The Southwest Fair Housing Council (SFHC) and the Arizona Fair Housing Center (AFHC) alleged Phoenix violated the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in its administration of the City’s federally funded Housing Choice Voucher program.” The press release goes on to say that complaints filed by | more...

August 22, 2016

HUD Charges Georgia Landlords With Fair Housing Act Violations

By Joe Wallace

The Fair Housing Act was passed to protect those in search of housing, whether they need to rent or purchase. Discrimination against a renter or potential renter is just as serious as discrimination against those who wish to purchase housing; many who want to buy a home must seek out rental property in the meantime and violations of the Fair Housing Act affect these renters who intend to be owners. The Department of Housing and Urban Development aggressively pursues cases of housing discrimination regardless of renter/buyer status and one of the most recent cases stems from a complaint lodged by a single mother in Georgia. According to a press release on the HUD official site, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced it is charging a | more...

August 9, 2016

HUD Announces Settlement In Housing Discrimination Case Against Richmond, Virginia

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a housing discrimination case brought against the city of Richmond, Virginia. According to a August 4, 2016 press release on the HUD official site, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has approved an agreement with the City of Richmond, Virginia, settling 14 complaints of housing discrimination filed against the City by Hispanic residents. The complaints alleged that the City of Richmond selectively enforced its code requirements against residents of the Citys mobile home parks, who are predominantly Hispanic.” The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of their national origin. That includes discriminatory or selective enforcement of housing regulations or other issues related to enforcement. | more...

August 1, 2016

HUD Announces Settlement In Pennsylvania Housing Discrimination Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a Pennsylvania housing discrimination case involving a loan applicant on maternity leave. According to the press release on the HUD official site, “…a Conciliation Agreement with Philadelphia-based Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania and Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank, collectively known as Citizens Bank, settling allegations that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act when it told a female applicant that she would need to return to work before her application for a home equity line of credit could be approved.” Fair Housing Act laws state that it is illegal to discriminate against borrowers, “in the terms, conditions, or privileges associated with the sale or rental of a dwelling on the basis of familial status”, which includes denying a mortgage | more...

June 9, 2016

HUD Announces Agreement In Housing Discrimination Case

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development have announced an agreement in a housing discrimination case involving First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the case involved allegations that the bank “denied mortgage loans to African American, Latino and Asian American mortgage applicants at a disproportionately higher rate than white applicants. HUD’s investigation concerned retail loans originated by the banks predecessor, First Citizens Bank and Trust Co., in 2010 and 2011.” According to the HUD official site, Gustavo Velasquez, HUDs Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, commented on the settlement, saying, “This agreement aligns our shared goals of promoting fair housing and expanding access to credit for qualified working families. HUD will use its enforcement powers to ensure that everyone | more...

May 24, 2016

HUD Announces Housing Discrimination Settlement With Eden Management

By Joe Wallace

Housing discrimination affects those at all stages of finding a home, whether looking to buy or trying to find a rental unit. Housing discrimination cases are aggressively pursued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), but often times the only way to stop further discrimination is for the victims to step forward to make a formal complaint. That’s exactly what happened in one case, which reached a settlement this week according to a press release from HUD. According to HUDNo.16-76, the agency has reached an agreement with Eden Management in Illinois; “…a $630,000 agreement with a group of Illinois property owners and a management company resolving allegations they violated the Fair Housing Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by using rental screening policies that | more...

May 11, 2016

HUD Fair Housing Decision Upheld By Appeals Court

By Joe Wallace

An appeals court has upheld a HUD Fair Housing determination. According to the press release at HUD.gov (HUDNo.16-070), “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today that it has won an important Fair Housing Act victory in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.” According to the press release, the appeals court decision backs a “Final Order of the Secretary of HUD” following a trial before an administrative law judge, “that a condominium association discriminated against a resident with disabilities by refusing to allow him to keep an emotional support animal.” Federal Fair Housing laws prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities to include “no pet” rules that affect a home owner or renter’s ability to keep a support animal (that would include home owner or | more...

May 4, 2016

HUD brings Fair Housing Charges Against New York Co-Op

By Joe Wallace

The month of April may have been Fair Housing Month, but the work of the Department of Housing and Urban Development continues in the cause of ending housing discrimination. One of the latest press releases from HUD involves an investigation of alleged housing discrimination in New York. According to a press release on the HUD official site, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it is charging a White Plains, New York, co-op with housing discrimination for refusing to grant an exception to its policies that would allow a person with disabilities to buy a unit there. HUDs Office of Regional Counsel for New England, which has jurisdiction over the case, issued the Charge of Discrimination on April 26”. Such discrimination is not permitted under | more...

May 3, 2016

HUD: $37 Million To Fight Housing Discrimination

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced $37 million in funding to fight housing discrimination. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the most recent announcement is one of three notices designed to, “support a variety of important fair housing activities, including fair housing testing in the rental and sales market, public education efforts, capacity building, and education and outreach activities.” The work HUD’s fair housing partners do every day is critical to our efforts to ensure that every family in America has an equal shot at finding the home that is right for them, said HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez, who was quoted in the press release. These grants help to provide the critical financial resources they need | more...